Beloved of God,
There is a longing deep inside of women. A longing to matter. To be heard and understood. To be beautiful to someone. This longing is not a weakness, but the enemy of our souls knows how to exploit it. A lot of women don’t know who they are truly created to be. The devil is called the father of lies for a reason. The only power he has is lies so he wields his power well by whispering them to us from childhood until we believe it’s our own voice. “I’m not good enough. I’m too much. I’m not enough. I’m too fat. I’m too skinny. I’m ugly. I don’t deserve to be heard. I’m unlovable. I’m dirty, unworthy, used, abandoned, rejected..” and on it goes until we wrap our heart in shame and our light is hidden.

The creator of the heavens and the earth wants me to tell you that he wants better for you. He has been beside you through every hurt.  He wants to reveal the voice of the enemy for what it is, and replace each lie that you have been believing with his beautiful truth.

We are made in God’s image and there is an attack on the identity of his creation. If the devil can get you to believe that you are nothing, he can silence your voice and hide your light. For every lie of his that you’ve believed, there is a corresponding truth.  Why? Because God made you. He made you with gifts. He made you uniquely, you. He made you to shine.

Romans says: “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (12:2 NKJ).

It is our job to renew our minds.  As we are diligent to do this, it is the Father’s job to heal and change our hearts. 

Lies can be hard to spot. They are deceitful by their very nature. You may have been walking under lies about yourself for so long they have become your truth. That’s not God’s perfect will for your life! This is where recognizing lies and replacing them with truth comes in. There is a simple but powerful exercise the Lord taught me that helped me recognize the lies of the enemy that I had accepted about myself.

Here is the first part of the exercise. Find a place where you can relax and get quiet. Maybe put on some peaceful background music and cuddle up with some coffee or tea . Get a pen and paper and ask the Lord to bring to mind any lies that you have believed about yourself. He knows what they are, even if you do not. When you are writing down what comes to mind, don’t hinder yourself by worrying about handwriting, grammar, or punctuation.  Just get on paper what he is telling you. It’s kind of what we called in creative writing class a “brain dump”. You just get it out quickly without overthinking.

What comes out may surprise you. Maybe you didn’t know you believed some of those negative things about yourself, or maybe you just don’t see them as lies. Lies are subtle. The enemy likes to slowly put them over you until they are like a dark cloud you didn’t realize you were living under. You have a Heavenly Father who passionately adores you. He doesn’t want us living under condemnation and negative thoughts about ourselves.

Here are some truths to meditate on from the Bible to help you know your identity in Christ:

• Ephesians 1:4-5 It was His pleasure to hand-pick you, adopt you as His daughter. You are blameless and pure.
• Colossians 3:12 You are holy and dearly loved.
• Ephesians 1:7-8 You are redeemed, forgiven, and lavished with grace.
• Ephesians 1:13-14 You are God’s, marked with His seal.
• 1 Peter 2:9 You are holy, royal, His special possession!
• Philippians 4:13 You are powerful in Him.
• Ephesians 3:17-20 You are extravagantly loved.
• Psalm 139:4-7 You are intimately known, and never alone.
• Psalm 139:13-15 He knew you in the womb where you were wonderfully and fearfully made.
• Isaiah 53:4-6 You are forgiven and healed. He died for you to be free.
• Jeremiah 29:11 You have a hopeful future.
• Romans 5:1-2 You stand in undeserved privilege because He has made you worthy.
• Romans 8:37 You are victorious and loved.
• John 10:3 God calls you by name and you hear His voice.
• Psalm 4:3 You are set apart for Him and He hears you.
• 2 Timothy 1:7 You are not ruled by fear. You have power, love, and a sound and disciplined mind.

It is God’s opinion that matters.  It is Christ who has made you clean. 
Learn to rest in his love.  Replace the lies with his truth. Let him “rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

Now get quiet again and ask the Lord to replace those lies that he revealed to you with his truth. Turn off your editing brain and just start writing what the Lord brings to mind. He will not speak ill things. He does not see you as broken and discardable. That is not the Father’s heart for you. Beautiful sister of God, you are his beloved. It’s not about what you’ve done, or the shameful things you’ve struggled with, or what others have done to you or spoken over you. It’s about who you are in Christ.

This is important: Sometimes it takes a while for those lies to dissipate and to truly believe what the Father says. KEEP RENEWING YOUR MIND TO HIS TRUTH. Be aware and be consistent. Lies are whispered in insidious ways. CATCH THOSE THOUGHTS. Remember, as you renew your mind consistently to God’s truth, it is his job to change your heart.

 There are so many more verses about who you are in Christ.  I could go on and on. Know that you are passionately, purposefully, and fiercely loved by a God who wants you to draw closer to him so he can daily whisper what your heart needs to hear.  You have a gift to share with others. Before you have the freedom to shine and share your gift, you have to first spend time in the love and grace of God. Revel in his presence. Revel in his love. Let him teach you who you are in him. Let his loving truth replace the lies. Then you will become radiantly free to shine, and to invite others to freedom.

How-to summary:

• It’s important to look up scriptures about God’s love for you and who you are in him. You are forgiven, loved, healed, seen, etc. Looking up these scriptures online or in a concordance, then meditating on them every day will help you align your thoughts about yourself with God’s.
• Get quiet and ask God to reveal any lies you have believed about yourself from the enemy. Journal the thoughts that come to mind without worrying about grammar, neatness etc.
• After writing down the lies, ask God to help you write the truth about who you are and how He sees you. Remember that he speaks with the voice of love and sees through the eyes of love and will not speak mean things over you.
• Be diligent to catch those lies and replace them with God’s truth. Anytime you think negatively about yourself, interrupt that thought immediately with God’s loving truth.